The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Invests $40.22 Million in Equinox Gold Corp. $EQX

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company acquired a new stake in Equinox Gold Corp. (NYSEAMERICAN:EQX) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 4,145,083 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $40,220,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in EQX. Infrastructure Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Equinox Gold in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $126,000. Cibc World Market Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Equinox Gold during the second quarter worth $6,670,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Equinox Gold during the second quarter worth $187,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Equinox Gold in the 2nd quarter valued at $24,802,000. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. bought a new position in shares of Equinox Gold in the 2nd quarter valued at $108,000. 38.85% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Equinox Gold Price Performance

Shares of EQX opened at $13.63 on Thursday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $10.36 and a 200-day moving average of $12.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 1.33 and a quick ratio of 0.77. The company has a market capitalization of $15.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.63 and a beta of 1.27. Equinox Gold Corp. has a 1 year low of $8.07 and a 1 year high of $18.96.

Equinox Gold (NYSEAMERICAN:EQX) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $0.16 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.17 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $769.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $775.79 million. Equinox Gold had a net margin of 26.30% and a return on equity of 10.91%. The business’s revenue was up 60.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.11 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Equinox Gold Corp. will post 1.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Equinox Gold Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 2nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 19th will be paid a $0.0225 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 19th. This represents a $0.09 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. This is an increase from Equinox Gold’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.01. Equinox Gold’s payout ratio is currently 16.67%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on EQX shares. Zacks Research lowered Equinox Gold from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price objective on Equinox Gold from $14.00 to $13.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Equinox Gold from a “buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 8th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Equinox Gold in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, Scotiabank reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Equinox Gold in a research note on Friday, August 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Equinox Gold presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $13.00.

Equinox Gold Profile

Equinox Gold Corp is a Canadian gold mining company headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia. The company focuses on the acquisition, development, and operation of gold properties, with an emphasis on open-pit heap leach mining. Since its inception, Equinox Gold has pursued a strategy of combining assets in established jurisdictions to build a diversified portfolio that balances production and growth, while maintaining rigorous safety and environmental standards.

Equinox Gold’s operating portfolio spans three countries.